Articles
Did Jesus Turn Water into Grape Juice?
Did Jesus Turn Water into Grape Juice?
Jesus turned water into wine (John 2:1-11). The story has become the key proof text proponents of social drinking use to defend the practice. They believe Jesus made intoxicating wine, which proves that God allows alcohol consumption short of drunkenness. Does the argument work? Let’s find out.
The story takes place in Cana of Galilee. Jesus attends a wedding during which the hosts run out of wine. Jesus' mother prompts Him to fix the problem, so he does, reluctantly. He instructs the servants to fill six jars with water and to give some to the overseer of the wedding. The water had miraculously turned into wine, and once the overseer tastes it, he responds in surprise at it’s wonderful flavor.2
Jesus, in this account, performed an incredible miracle, altering the molecular structure of the water by transforming it into wine. John summarizes the point of the account in 2:11: “This beginning of His signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory, and His disciples believed in Him.”
In responding to the argument that Jesus’ action permits social drinking, first we must admit that Jesus created wine. The question is, was the wine alcoholic? The Greek word translated “wine” in this passage, oinos, “can and does refer to either unfermented or fermented wine” (The Complete Biblical Library Greek-English Dictionary). The context determines whether the wine was fermented.
The headwaiter said to the servants, “You have kept the good wine until now” (John 2:10). In ancient times, the kind of wine regarded as the best was unfermented. In his commentary, Albert Barnes writes, “Pliny, Plutarch, and Horace describe wine as good, or mention that as the best wine which was harmless or innocent.” In Numbers 18:12, God calls the best wine that which was “fresh."
When wine is fermented, it loses some of its sweetness since the sugars from the grapes are broken down and converted into alcohol and carbon dioxide. Sweet, fresh grape juice was a delicacy in the first century. The wedding Jesus attended took place in early spring, right before the time of the Passover (John 2:13). Fresh grape juice was only available in mid to late summer in Palestine at that point in history. For Jesus to turn water into the highest quality juice that tasted like it was just pressed from perfectly ripened grapes would have been more than a rare treat, it would have been a truly amazing miracle! And according to the context, I believe that’s exactly what happened.
